Category Archives for "Marketing"

Understanding Your Offer

Making your offer readily understood by your target market is not always easy.  There are several barriers to your prospects understanding your offer.  Your task is to find out what they are and address them.

Why Prospects May have Difficulty Understanding Your Offer

Your offer may be difficult to understand.  Even though you are describing your offer very clearly, there may still be barriers to understanding.  Where you have a specialist market, it is possible your prospects will understand your offer.  It doesn’t matter if other people don’t because they are not your prospective market.

You may have difficulty because you approach a problem from a unique perspective.  This can mean your prospects make assumptions and read your offer according to those assumptions.  So, they may have difficulty grasping your unique perspective.

Again, you may have an offer that addresses a problem many people have but do not recognise as a problem.  So, many people who are overweight do not see it as a problem.  You will need to persuade them not only that they are overweight but also it is a problem they need to take seriously.

And of course, you may find your explanations are not compelling for one reason or another.  You may provide too little or too much information, poorly expressed, too technical or too simple.  You may inadvertently put people off by expressing something that has a negative impact.  A common mistake is to attempt to market your offer on features, neglecting its benefits.

How to Help Prospects Understand Your Offer

Be clear about the distinction between features and benefits.  If your offer is technically complex, does your prospect really need all the detail?  They are going to pay you for your knowledge of the technical complexities.  Initially everyone will want to know the benefits and that’s where you should start.

Some customers will want a lot of technical detail, while others won’t.  Be prepared if they ask and have technical explanations to hand.  But usually, even those who ask are not seeking all the details.  They are most likely seeking reassurance you understand what you are doing for them and how they can make best use of it.

Use case studies where prospects may have difficulty grasping your offer.  A story may be more effective than a theoretical account.  You can back up your story with testimonials, providing social proof.

Illustrations, diagrams, tables and statistics may help convey information more effectively than a written account.  Of course, it depends on what your offer is.  A product is something you can photograph whilst a service may be harder to convey visually.

Where you have a lot of information to impart, remember marketing is educational; there is a significant overlap between marketing and education.  If your marketing material includes ideas your prospects can apply immediately, it will enhance your offer’s credibility.  These are the ideas behind the product launch.

Which Media Should You Use to Communicate Information?

We have far more media available to us today to communicate information about our offers and so it is important to think about the best ways you have to market your offer.

If you market locally, you can meet prospects and explain your offer, picking up when things are unclear and answering questions as they come up.  This may be the best way to market a complex offer.  However, you still have to find your prospects and persuade them to meet you.  Also, this can be more difficult if they are too far away for you to meet face-to-face.  Skype and similar services, can be almost as effective as meeting face-to-face.

Some Other Options

  • A single sales page on a website or in a letter. Paper-based marketing is rare these days; a few years ago we all received several long sales letters a week.  Most long sales letters are found online these days and they are still an effective marketing approach. Structure the letter properly and know how to use it online. People who understand the benefits are actually likely to read a relevant long sales letter, so don’t knock it.  Think of the times you have read a long sales letter and how you responded to it.
  • I would not normally send a long sales letter by email; a short email with a link to a long sales page is probably more effective.  Once the reader is on the web page, they are more likely to respond by signing up to your letter.  If they are on your email list, you can keep track of whether they open your email and follow the link to your website.
  • Video and audio can convey a lot of information effectively. Normally a 10 minute video is ample.  I find very short videos, especially if there are a lot of them, somewhat irritating.  Longer videos can work but you need more experience to convey a compelling idea over perhaps 25 minutes or longer.  If you want to go for length, it may be worth considering audio.  Some people will listen in the car or out jogging and so be able to set aside the time.
  • White papers, DVDs and books – are physical means of getting your ideas across. There are online equivalents of these and they are worth considering as less expensive alternatives.  An ebook for example might be all you need to find the space to explain your offer.  However, physical media can be compelling in their own right.

Conclusion

You will note this is a mix of online and physical resources.  Remember, the Internet is relatively recent and many marketers are still experimenting with approaches to getting their message across.  So, join in the experiments and persist until you find an approach that works for you.

How have you successfully marketed a complex idea?  Are there ideas you have struggled to market effectively?

Third-Party Prospects

It is sometimes worth considering whether you can sell your offer to third-party prospects.  A third-party is someone who makes a purchase for someone else.

Gifts

Usually, we call this a gift and for some businesses gifts are a major source of income.  Before you move on to consider some other aspect of your business, it worth asking whether your business has potential in this market.

Let’s consider the range of possibilities for a gift.  Remember sometimes third parties make a purchase and we would not think of it as a gift.

  • The personal gift is where someone buys a present for someone else. The person to receive and use the gift might have no knowledge of the purchase when the purchaser makes it.  If the recipient is present, it is likely to be similar to selling to them direct.  You need to work out who will make the decision.  A parent buying for a child, when both are present, may need convincing as much as the child, for example.
  • The corporate gift is where someone purchases a service and receives a surprise gift as a thank you and perhaps to encourage them. A corporate gift relevant to the transaction could be a book that will help the client understand the subject area.  Alternatively, they might offer a gift as a thank you.  The gift might be a meal, for example, or else a card and a token such as a box of chocolates.  Gifts personalised in some way are even better.
  • Another type of corporate gift is for marketing purposes. We’ve all received pens, pencils, diaries, usually embossed with the name, logo and contact details of the business.  A particular category of this type of gift, is the gift for business associates.  For example, at Christmas a business might give away bottles of wine or spirits to people they work with.  Take care, as some public servants must register gifts in case they are accused of receiving bribes!
  • Businesses also purchase gifts for employees, eg a Christmas dinner or a works outing. A training event may be an opportunity to offer a special meal or a drink.
  • A third corporate gift is the incentive to sign up for something. So, you might offer a video or a pdf in return for an email address.  The target person opts for this gift if they are interested in it and so may become a prospect later.

An Example

One mistake businesses make is to assume their market is solely their users.  Jewellery and make-up are good examples.  Women usually purchase these for personal use.  However, a jeweller, for example, may find they sell significant amounts to men who are buying a gift for a woman friend or relative.

This business may need to ask: How can you encourage men to purchase from you?  Do they feel comfortable in your shop?  Can you help them decide by asking questions that will help them work out what the recipient might like?

Celebrations

Parties are opportunities to sell large quantities of all sorts of things.  They are opportunities for bulk sales and so it is worth deciding whether you have opportunities to sell in this market.

Obviously there is food and drink but also other possibilities, eg venues, transport, decorations, music, invitations, toys, etc.

Be aware of different types of event.  This will influence the budget, eg a wedding is likely to have a bigger budget than a children’s party.

Some events resemble celebrations, for example a training event might need food, accommodation, equipment, handouts, etc.

Prices

I’m not entirely convinced by the argument that gifts and celebrations are an opportunity to ramp up your prices.  However, there are legitimate reasons why you could charge more:

  • Where your services are at a premium. For example, if you organise wedding receptions, you could charge lower prices mid-week.  Most people want to be married at the weekend and so there will be more competition for your services at those times.
  • If you sell 100 cupcakes, most people would expect the unit price to be lower than if you sell 10. This is to do with economies of scale.  Most caterers over-provide and there are some good reasons for this.  However, it is worth looking at what you are actually providing.  Is it the cupcakes or convenience, where someone else provides the food so the event organisers have time to concentrate on other things?  The food you provide might be costed at the lower bulk buy rate but you must also charge for service; knowing everything will be there at the agreed time and place.
  • If you’re selling a product it may be difficult to ramp up gift sales because you won’t always know who is purchasing a gift. But how about selling a special gift package?  You could bundle a few things together or offer a product with a service, eg come in for a fitting or one-to-one tuition about how to use it.  How can the recipient feel even more special?  If you do this type of thing, you are helping the purchaser plan a quality gift.  What you really must do is show the person who receives the gift will value the additional service.  If they are unhappy, you can guarantee word will circulate with amazing speed.
  • If you are marketing a cause, a gift may seem inappropriate. But it is worth considering whether supporters might appreciate relevant information and support.  For example, if someone who makes a donation, might receive updates or a book about the cause.  It’s a way of saying thank you, increasing understanding of the cause and possibly staying in touch.

Can you think of ways you can adapt your offer for third-party prospects?

Speaking About Community-Based Marketing

This Tuesday evening I presented my keynote talk, “Four Community-Based Marketing Cornerstones for Your Business”. This was my first time speaking about community-based marketing.  It took a lot of rehearsing and I was completely “off the book” – I spoke for about 40 minutes without access to notes (they were at home).

Overall the response was very positive.  The presentation was to the Sheffield Coaching Exchange and 25 people were present.  Eleven signed up for my Community Marketing Conversation and several others have indicated they will be in touch with contacts and possibilities for future presentations.  See my recent post about public speaking events for the theory behind what I did.

I won’t dwell on the feedback from the session, primarily because I would like to see how it pans out over the next few weeks.  This is a new experience for me and like everything else, it is important to take time to work out the best approach and learn the lessons.

In this post I’ll break down my talk, show how I structured it and explain the decisions I took.  I am not going to go into detail about the content: book me to speak if you’re interested!

Introduction

This was practically the same as the excerpt from my keynote talk I published a couple of weeks ago.  The recording was from the Public Speaking Academy‘s retreat weekend.  Since then I performed it for a group of friends.  The feedback from Tuesday suggested this was the least popular part of the talk.  Some people thought it was too long and some could not see how it related to the rest of the talk.

It comprises three main parts:

  • a teaser about the general theme of the evening
  • biographical information about me
  • introduction to the four cornerstones (and one keystone) for community-based marketing

The purpose of the biographical section is to establish my authority as a speaker, so it is important to include it, especially with an audience who did not know me.  (No-one present was previously known to me.)  Previous feedback was that it sounded impressive – which is the point after all!

The feedback was not particularly negative and I suspect, part of the problem was it paled in the light of the rest of the talk.  I shall consider ways of making it shorter.

Teaching

The aim of this section is to offer substantial memorable teaching.  I deliberately chose not to use PowerPoint or written notes.  My thinking here is something memorable is more likely to stick in people’s minds and influence their thinking about their own coaching business.  Of those who responded when asked about this, 12 indicated they were happy not to receive notes and 8 would have liked them.    This is something to think about further but it seems I may be on the right lines.

I explored the four cornerstones in turn.  The first is use of stories and I illustrated this with three imaginary coffee shop proprietors.  I acted out each one, allowing them to tell their story.

My intention was to model the prospects for the three businesses.  I divided the room into three groups, according to the coffee shop they would most like to visit.  I was then able to ask questions for the other 3 cornerstones of prospects for the 3 businesses.  This was highly participative and people entered into the spirit of it.

Conclusion

The conclusion fell into 5 parts:

  • I reviewed the 4 cornerstones and the keystone and suggested two ways to approach the keystone (how to market your business)
  • first, by applying the coffee shop model to their own business.  I invited them to jot down insights about their own business during the break and then we had a few minutes to discuss issues arising in small groups before a final plenary to discuss what came out of the discussions.
  • second, by signing up for a Community Marketing Conversation.  I prepared a matrix of available dates and times and allowed people to sign up who couldn’t make the times I suggested.  This approach simplifies arranging meetings.
  • An example from an existing client.
  • Various ways they could support my work, eg by signing up for a conversation, signing up on my website, completing an evaluation form, etc.

Feedback

All of this will be subject to review, particularly as I meet participants face-to-face over the next few weeks.  It will be interesting to find out how helpful the talk was to them as they reflected upon it.

To finish this post, I’d like to share this testimonial from Lisa Read, the Leader of the Sheffield Coaching Exchange:

“Thank you for an inspiring and thought-provoking talk at Sheffield Coaching Exchange last night. You got us all thinking about how we can market our businesses to our local communities more effectively. You also reignited our passion for how our coaching contributes to our city. I’ve come away entertained and with lots to think about. I’d recommend your services to other small, local businesses, and I’d encourage all to listen to you talk.”

This is an overview of what I did.  Please feel free to raise questions in the comments or discuss some of the issues.

How Many Questions Need Your Prospects Answer?

You need to know whether your product or service will benefit your prospect. If your charges are high, you don’t want to sell to someone who will not benefit from your product or service.  So, where you are selling something complex, you need to ask questions.

Questions Commensurate with Commitment

If you want someone to download your ebook in return for adding their email address to your list, you do not need to find out much to sign someone up.  Downloading an ebook, they may choose not to read, is not worth too much effort!

You really must ask for their email address because you are using the ebook to build your email list.  Strictly speaking that’s all you need!  Most businesses ask for a name as well.  This helps you personalise your emails.

You do not ask a lot of people on your list.  You hope they will read or view your offer and open at least some of your emails.

If someone shows interest in your premium products, they will understand you don’t want to sell them something that will not help them.  So, a few more questions can help you both make a good decision.

Classification Questions

Ask questions to work out which products or services are likely to be suitable.  You aim to find out more about the prospect and use the information to discuss a couple of products or services that may be helpful.

I do this through my Community Marketing Conversation.  I ask four main questions and have several sub-questions to ask if relevant.

My main aim is to find out whether I can help the prospect.  If I cannot, I aim to give them at least one good referral.

My second objective is to work out which of my services are most suitable for the prospect.  I usually offer a choice of two services.

Qualification Questions

Ask these to decide whether the prospect has the qualifications they need to take up your offer.

They are not always necessary but examples include, where you:

  • offer training validated externally
  • offer a product or service regulated externally
  • need to find out whether the prospect can pay for the product or service.

So, how many questions do you need?  It depends.  You need to think this through for your own business and be able to explain to prospects what you are doing, why you’re doing it and what you will do with their answers.

What questions do you use to recruit customers?

The Positive Power of Saying No

My main interest is in marketing and for many people the point of marketing is sales.  Many business owners struggle with sales and fear a prospect saying no.  I’m convinced a prospect saying no has positive power.

Of course, a prospect saying “Yes” delights most business owners.  After all this is the objective of their marketing and possibly months of careful work building trust with their prospect.

So, it is obviously a disappointment when the prospect says “No” – or is it?  Actually there are not two but four options and we should be aware of all of them.  Here they are in order of positive outcome.  The three first all have positive aspects, less so the fourth.

When Yes Means Yes – The Genuine Yes

You cannot be certain from the outset that the yes is a genuine yes.  You cannot be sure until you receive your first cheque or indeed until you have completed the contract.

Things can go wrong and the responsibility for that rests primarily with you.  The client is genuinely interested and so you need to arrange another meeting where you can discuss the details of your contract and arrange payment if everything is satisfactory.  This is a crucial time in your relationship with your client and if it goes wrong the fault is most likely with you.

However, we all learn from mistakes and if you do lose clients at this stage, you need to review what you did and work out where you’ve gone wrong.  The main thing to remember is keep communication open and arrange another meeting soon to cement the relationship.

When No Means Yes – No for Now

Your prospect says “No” but wants to maintain the relationship.  Sometimes they’ll tell you it is no for now and maybe there will be a deal some time in the future.  Other times you intuit they want to keep the relationship going.  What you need to do is agree some future meetings.

You could do this by inviting them to join your referral networking group, for example.  Alternatively, you could arrange to meet again and catch up at a later date, maybe 6 months later.

The key to this prospect may be they need to build trust with you.  It seems many businesses find they need between 4 and 10 one-to-one meetings to change that “No” into a “Yes”.  The thing is to cultivate the relationship, maximise the opportunities to get to know like and trust each other.

When No Means No – The Genuine No

You will have a good idea when the “No” is final.  And actually this is a good place to be.  If you do not have any common ground (and it can be you who says “No” to the prospect) it is better to be honest about it.

It is not a good idea to allow this “No” to be tacit.  You can ask if they know anyone who might be interested in your business.  This allows them to say “No” but also, if they do want to support you, they have an opportunity to find you a referral.

It is always worth having some reserve ideas for those who say no.  Perhaps they would sign up to your email list?  The point would be to remind them of you and so they can make referrals at a later date.

Just because the person in front of me is not a prospect, it does not mean they don’t know others who might be.

So, an honest “No” can have positive power.  It doesn’t mean you have to lose touch.  The main problem is finding constructive ways of keeping in touch with perhaps many such contacts.

When Yes Means No – The Silence

This is the worst possible outcome.  This Yes raises your hopes  but then your prospect goes silent.  Sometimes this happens part way through a contract.  Usually though it is soon after this first “Yes”.

Reasons?  Perhaps the prospect changed their mind but sometimes it happens because the prospect doesn’t know how to say “No”.  They say “Yes” to get out of the room.

Unfortunately, you may spend several hours preparing paperwork, planning how to handle this client and then find it is all for nothing.  When I started I had several such prospects and some of them lasted for weeks.

The key is to follow-up immediately the prospect says “Yes”.  You don’t know if they mean it or if they mean it now and will have second thoughts later.  So, here are my suggestions:

  • the key is to arrange another meeting sometime soon.  If they are genuine they’ll be keen to get started and so be ready to have some detailed proposals as soon as possible
  • send details in advance of the meetings, primarily of your proposal.  At the meeting they can raise their concerns.  This may be the best time to discuss prices.  Start high and watch out for reasons to offer reductions
  • tell them what to do if they have doubts – ask them to contact you or tell you at the meeting.  Say you hope they will stay in touch even if they change their minds.  Hopefully they will agree that if on reflection they’re not sure they will want to keep contact in case they become sure in the future.

Keep communication going while you’re waiting for your first payment.  Sometimes there are management committees and the like to negotiate and these all allow time for doubts to set in.  I’m more inclined to be firmer about these issues than I was, given the amount of preparation a new client requires and that you are not reimbursed for the work you do until the first payment.

Conclusion

Notice how saying “No” is actually no bad thing.  It does not imply a termination in your relationship.  Sometimes it is a “not yet” and sometimes you may have an ally who can pass business your way.  Remember in a one-to-one, you may also be saying “No” to their offer.  The issue is not selling services to one another so much as finding working relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Do you have examples of good practice for fielding these four types of response?

Conversations with Target Markets

Assume you have identified your target market.  This is not always easy but if you can do this you have no excuse for not having conversations with it!  Conversations with target markets are vital, if you are not going to waste time developing products or services no-one needs.

This post is about opportunities for such conversations but first let’s recall why they are important: your target market always has a better idea what it needs than you do.

That seems clear-cut.  Disagree by all means but if you think you know better, there’s no harm in checking out your ideas with your target market.

However, people don’t always know what they need.  Possibly, they know what they want.  This is why you need conversations.  Conversations enable ideas to develop; when this happens you have a potential customer in front of you.

In-Person Conversations

With a local market, you have many opportunities for in-person conversations.  If not, you will still be able to meet some people potentially interested in your business.

If you review my posts about testimonials, you will see recorded interviews are a good way to get testimonials; to discover what your clients might value from you in the future.

You can just as easily interview potential customers as you can actual customers.  If you find people who want to support you and are part of your potential market, you can ask them what they need.

So, how do you find people for your conversations?  Any referral marketing approach helps.  Ask contacts if they can think of anyone who might be in your market and willing to meet you for a conversation.

Online Conversations

You can hold face-to-face conversations online using Skype, Google Hangouts or other similar means.  Other possibilities include conversations:

  • in the comments on your blog
  • via social media
  • in online fora

There are no guarantees these will work but they are all worth a try.

If you have an email list, the chances are the people on it are interested in what you are doing and so it is worth asking if they would like to make contact for a conversation.

Seed Product Launches

These are usually online but could be done as a local event.  This is a general outline of the approach.

You decide on a product you want to develop.  This is likely to appeal to your target market.  Let it be known you are planning to develop the product and are looking for people to help you.

You charge a modest amount to those who are taking part.  This cements their commitment to several meetings with you.

You present your ideas at online or in-person meetings and receive feedback.  The aim to engage the group in developing the product.

Once  you have finished the product, give a copy to each member of the group and then you are free to sell the product, most likely at a higher price than the price you charged the seed launch group.  The seed launch group experience both working with you and the finished product and so their fee is well worth it!

Developing a product this way means it is more likely to meet the needs of your target market than a product developed in isolation.  You still do most of the work but guided by the insights of a group of people who will value the finished product.  They may also be pleased to recommend the finished product to their contacts.

There are many more ways you can find opportunities to hold conversations with a view to shaping your products or services to meet your target market’s needs.  Have you any favourite approaches?

How to Manage Multiple Offers

There is no rule about whether you make single or multiple offers.  If you walk into a shop, you expect multiple offers.  There may be a few shops that sell only one thing but I can’t think of any examples.  A shop that sells only cupcakes, will have many varieties of cupcake and it may be academic whether some lines are really cupcakes.  (Giant cupcakes are cakes, surely?)

It’s hard to make a single offer with no variations or alternatives.  Getting it out there may be all you need to find inspiration for variations.

Let’s say you’re a training agency and you have offered a course successfully for several years.  Demand has stayed constant and whilst the course itself has evolved, there has been no need to develop an alternative.

You find your profit margins fall, even though participation in the course remains constant.  You have increased fees but fear further increases might reduce sales.  Here are few things you might consider.

Context

Are there ways to extend and develop the course that were not available to you at the start?  Your context will have changed over the years in at least two ways:

  • Your success will mean you are likely to be surrounded by experienced people, loads of course materials and a network of supportive past students. These may help generate new ideas and so long as your organisation is able to implement them, you may find it easy to generate new options.
  • The wider context has changed. For example, new technologies make online courses a possibility for every organisation.

Probably most training agencies get stuck, not so much by offering only one course, as providing only one type of course, eg at a certain academic level or committed to face-to-face courses and so resisting online courses.

A well-known tool which can help organisations find new directions is the SWOT analysis.

Demand

Demand, although part of your context, deserves its own heading.  Listening to what prospective students ask for may be a valuable insight into alternative offers.  There are two main sources for this information:

  • Current and past students may request further courses. They might ask to explore a topic in greater academic depth, seek to develop their knowledge in related areas or seek support as they apply what they learn in their own contexts.
  • People who have considered the existing course and decided it is not right for them may still be looking for something you could supply. If you can find out what they want, they may sign up for an alternative course.

Of course, all successful businesses need to be in touch with and listen to their markets and this is why most businesses offer more than one option.

Sales Funnels

Multiple offers may play various roles in an organisation’s sales funnel as:

  • Incentives for interested people to sign up and maintain contact. A sample of the course content, given away when visitors subscribe offers a taste of your course and subscribers add their email addresses to an email list of prospects.  Incentives might be an ebook, an email sequence or a report.  They can also be video or audio recordings.
  • A training agency selling a high-end course may find some customers need more elementary courses to prepare for it. With academic courses, people may be permitted to take part only if they have completed a more elementary course.  Providing elementary courses means you have a pool of students to consider advanced courses with you.
  • An upsell, is where you sell something else as a result of signing up for a course. Sometimes, it is an associated course that will extend the value of the main course.  Other times the upsell may be to a more advanced course.  This latter option may be offered towards the end of the course, whilst the former may be more useful if offered at the beginning.

Making Choices Between Multiple Offers

If you have the choice between offering one course or several, it is worth considering how you market your offers.

If you offer one course, the customer has two options, take it or leave it.  Offer two courses, perhaps at different prices, and the customer is more likely to choose one.

You might have several courses on offer but if you’re able to discuss the customer’s needs, you may be able to narrow down your offer to two options.

Note this cuts across the single versus multiple offers and shows how you can structure your offers to market them.  Having just one offer means people can say no (they can always say no of course) whilst several options can be confusing.  Narrowing the choice to between two offers, makes a yes more likely because it reduces confusion and tailors the offer to the customer’s needs.

So, the answer to the question: single or multiple offers?  Have several but try to simplify the choice for customers.  To do this you need several alternatives from which you can select two offers for each customer according to their needs.

How do you structure your offers?

What Does Transformation Mean for Your Market?

The word transformation appears in marketing literature from time to time.  In some respects it is an exciting word.  Surely transformation is what we’re all after?

But in other respects transformation is hardly an undiluted good.  The word does not imply a change for the better but just change of any sort.  I’m sure a prince transformed into a frog would not view transformation as good!

I’ve used the word several times in this blog and here are some of the meanings I have attributed to it.  Transformation as:

It is interesting to note how little these four uses of the word have in common.  I’ve used the word to mean both personal and societal change.  However, I have used the word to mean positive change consistently.

Transformation in Marketing

I think this is consistent with the way marketing literature uses the word.  It usually means (and this is another use) the change that will take place in the life of a customer should they accept your offer.  You are saying in effect that by buying your offer, they will find some aspect of their life experience will change for the better.

It seems unlikely anyone would buy anything they did not believe would change their life for the better.  But this is the point of the distinction marketers make between features and benefits.  When you buy anything, it comes with a promise of positive change.  If you can’t express that change or promise to deliver it, then you are unlikely to sell anything.

No-one in their right mind wants a website, for example.  Many people think they do because they have not considered what they want it for.  This is why successful website designers sell the benefits of having a website.  Someone who believes they want a website will pay the smallest amount they can get away with.  If they have no understanding of what it can do for them, they will not value it highly enough to pay a higher rate for a product that effectively supported their business.

Where the designer promises transformation, they increase the value of their offer.  It means more work for the designer but what they can charge can exceed the value of their extra work.

If you can’t grasp the transformation and express it in language your market understands then you will find your work will never make the financial returns commensurate with its value.

Can you think of times transformation has worked for your business?

Market Position

Your market position forms your approach to marketing.  There are four basic positions: Leader, Challenger, Niche and Follower.  Most small or local businesses are likely to be Niche or Follower.  However, there may be some Leaders or Challengers.

Leaders

The market leader in any market is usually seen to be the business that provides the highest quality products in the greatest number.  They seek to maintain their market position and their reputation.

Someone approaching a leader can be confident they are dealing with an established business and if something goes wrong it has the capacity to put it right.  Leaders are the safe option and likely to be expensive.

They are likely to offer a standard product or service.  If they turn over a lot of customers, the chances are they offer a “one size fits all” approach.

Challenger

These businesses are the closest competitors to Leaders and seek a share in their markets.  The Challenger will try to produce either a higher quality product or service or else they will seek to undercut the Leader in price.

To get to where they want to be, the Challenger will compete with smaller businesses so they can get their customers and build a market share to challenge the Leader.

For many years Apple was the Challenger to Microsoft.  I’m not sure which of these is the current Leader but how did Apple challenge Microsoft?  They used design.  Their computers were well-designed both in their appearance and their operating system.  As Microsoft became bogged down with a system that under-performed, Apple thrived on learning from Microsoft and designing a robust system from the start.  A third element to their success was identifying the type of device that appealed to people, their customers appreciated their latest models as trendy.

Microsoft found itself embedded with traditional users who couldn’t afford to change systems and people like me who simply use what they know, despite its limitations.

Niche

The niche market position is open to smaller businesses.  It identifies a market too small to attract other businesses’ attention.  They offer a high quality product or service specifically tailored to that market.

Their main marketing point is they know their market and so provide excellent service.  When someone in their market encounters their marketing pitch, they know it is for them.

Because they are providing a bespoke service, tailored to their customer’s needs, these businesses can be expensive.

Followers

These are the pile it high, sell it cheap school of marketing.  The idea is to copy the Leader but at low quality so that costs can be kept low.  This can be a borderline dishonest approach and so it is important to keep an eye on reputation.

Whilst some people may stand back through fear of purchasing something substandard, most people will buy because they can afford to take a loss if it turns out to be substandard.

The problem with this approach is that it lacks a creative approach to business, seeking to emulate the success of others.  Are there any circumstances where it can work?

I suppose some people use this approach to generate capital quickly so they can build a niche business.

 

It may be worth checking from time to time, which of these positions your business occupies.  Given most small local businesses will be niche, this model is helpful not so much for self-diagnosis as helping us understand the market position of other businesses.

Have you experience of working in a market Leader or Challenger?  How does it differ from working in a Niche market?

Using Urgency to Your Client’s Advantage

Urgency is closely related to scarcity.  Urgency implies lack of time and in my last post I wrote about being honest about scarcity, of any type.  It is legitimate for things, including time, to be scarce so long as you’re honest and upfront about the reasons.

Once they are convinced of the value of your offer, get the prospect to act as soon as possible.  There is a state of mind, we’ve all experienced it, called “buyer’s remorse” that sets in soon after someone makes a substantial purchase.  You don’t want buyer’s remorse to set in before someone makes a purchase because then they won’t do it.

Hang on, you may be thinking: isn’t it better to allow people time to think it through?  After all, if it is not beneficial, surely it is better they don’t make the purchase in the first place.  There is some truth in this and there may be some value in allowing a short cooling-off period.  But 24 hours should be more than enough.

The problem really sets in where there is a third-party involved in a decision, maybe a management committee.  Your prospect is to be your advocate with them.  Asking your prospect to stay enthusiastic over maybe a couple of weeks and then to sell your offer to a management committee is a big ask!

Advantages to the Prospect

Let’s start by asking why making a quick decision benefits the prospect.  Usually there are plenty of reasons the vendor would prefer a quick sale; slow sales are more work and likely to result in disappointment.  But why does it benefit the prospect?  Let’s assume objectively the offer will benefit the prospect.

  • The prospect may be able to see the benefits but time can cause doubts to grow. Whilst some doubts may be real, they are likely to be the sort of issues you deal with during your offer.
  • Many managers find their time to think strategically limited. If your offer is strategic or for personal development, one thing you are offering is accountability.  This is not heavy; it means the prospect needs time to prepare to work with you and this can be highly advantageous.  Often time constraints become a concern if they have time to think about them.
  • If the offer is for personal development, does it need to go through a committee? Usually organisations have a budget and if so, they may need to speak to a line manager but that may be all they need.

How to Accelerate Decision-Making

  • Information for third parties can help your prospect make a case. Some people want minimal information and others want loads.  You can cater for them by producing a single document with a summary on the front.  The summary should be tailored to the prospect’s needs and agreed with them.  It should be no more than one side of A4.  The rest of the document should be an account of what you offer.  This is for people who want detail, so give them detail!
  • Get your prospect started – if you can offer an introductory task to the prospect, they will hopefully complete it and look forward to discussing it with you. This gives them some idea of your approach and so help assuage any doubts they may have.
  • Stay in touch! You can offer a brief conversation close to the crucial meeting.  Does it help to offer to meet the decision-making body yourself?  Your service is not for them but for your prospect, who needs to champion your offer.  I’ve done this several times during my career, seeking support for personal development.  Most committees know it is important and are not that interested beyond seeing the benefit to their organisation.  So, the priority is supporting your prospect and keeping them enthusiastic.
  • A financial incentive for a quick decision has several advantages. Apart from the obvious, it sets a deadline.  For you this is an advantage because it removes the burden of time spent chasing lost causes.  If the prospect has a real reason for delay, eg they have applied for funding, you can offer an extension.  If the prospect doesn’t care about losing the incentive then it is likely they don’t care about your offer.

Stay in Touch

A final word to prospects.  You can change your mind.  If you do, the thing to do is contact the vendor and tell them!  The worst thing small businesses encounter is the warm prospect who goes silent.  Most businesses want to keep communication open, a definite no allows communication to continue.  The cold shoulder does not help that to happen.

Moving things along from a “yes” to payment can be one of the hardest tasks facing any business.  How do you approach this critical stage in your sales funnel?

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